I was gone for all the classes in the second week into researching a world theatre tradition. While being gone, I was able to decide what tradition I wanted to focus on. Here were my top two:
Talchum Mask Dance (Korea)
With this tradition, I found it interesting how their dance was just simple movements that were exaggerated by the long sleeves of their clothing. I think movement is something that I would like to look into with this one, which I think would be a fun challenge, as someone who does not know much about dance. Along with their costumes, the masks they used were elaborate and were an element that defined their character. I also found tutorials on how to make a mask, and I would be interested in making one. The tradition also involves scenes without dancing, which I found similar to British pantomime, as they both have character conventions and traditional story structure.
Kabuki (Japan)
I like this tradition for similar reasons. I enjoyed how the tradition has elegant movements accompanied by traditional music. Their costumes are also an important element that defines their characters, they would have a lot of makeup, wigs, and accessories. Along this, their use of props ranged from dramatic posing of a sword to slow movements with a fan. The plot would often be historical events, thus they would have the traditional characters.
Overall, I was generally interested in traditions that I have never heard of before or have any chance in seeing such performances. In the end I chose Talchum Mask Dance. There wasn't a strong reason on why I chose Talchum over Kabuki, but I was simply more interested in it. And I hope to continue finding interesting information about it as I begin my research.
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